The Special Operations Association of America joins the Veterans Education Project in calling on Congress to retire an outdated rule that limits higher educational opportunities for student Veterans.
As it stands, the 90/10 rule in the Higher Education Act favors public and nonprofit educational institutions while imposing penalties on other institutions, despite there being no evidence to demonstrate how well various institutions are supporting student veterans.
In simple terms, the 90/10 rule restricts schools based on how they are funded rather than how well they educate veterans. It allows GI Bill and military education benefits to be treated differently from other federal aid, limiting veterans’ educational choices, without any evidence that the rule improves outcomes for student veterans. As a result, a number of nonprofit institutions have effectively subsidized sub-par educational programs through veterans’ and service members’ tuition.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, and the recent consensus reached at the conclusion of the Department of Education’s Negotiated Rulemaking, calls for all postsecondary institutions to be accountable for educational outcomes. However, the 90/10 rule continues to stand.
SOAA knows that special operations forces veterans who sacrificed in service to their country have earned the right to use their GI Bill benefits at an institution where they can receive an excellent education that will benefit them in a civilian career. Any initiatives that limit a veteran’s educational options do them a great disservice.
SOAA is in favor of reforming current rules to ensure that all varieties of postsecondary institutions are evaluated by the quality of education they provide to veterans. In support of this endeavor, SOAA calls for the elimination of the 90/10 rule. SOAA also joins VEP in supporting initiatives like the Elizabeth Dole Act, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve its GI Benefits Comparison Tool, which will help veterans understand their educational choices when utilizing their benefits.
We concur with our partners at VEP that for veterans to utilize their GI Bill to maximum effect, greater transparency about veterans’ educational outcomes across all varieties of postsecondary institutions is needed.
